Doug Ford to transition to power in Ontario over next three weeks

Godefroy Castex

EDMONTON-After Doug Ford's Progressive Conservatives swept into Ontario's legislature with a majority government on Thursday night, Alberta pundits are considering the effects a new Ford Nation could have at home.

Ontario's Conservatives, led by Ford, won 76 of the 124 seats in the province, with 99% of the polls reporting. Ford's stronger than expected showing and the Liberals' significant losses to the New Democrats may worry supporters of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's federal Liberal party, up for re-election in 2019.

Former Toronto Mayor Rob Ford (right) stands alongside his brother then-councillor Doug Ford (left) during a Toronto City Council meeting at City Hall on November 15, 2013 in Toronto, Canada.

Ford's stripped down platform with its focus on cutting taxes and eliminating the "six-million-dollar man", the CEO at Hydro One, putting booze in the corner stores and generally getting government out of people's faces clearly resonated with a lot of voters after 15 years of a more paternalistic-style governing under the Liberals.

It's not clear how Ford will fund his promises, as the party didn't release a fully costed plan.

Horwath easily ran her best campaign with a well-organized agenda, clever and effective ads, and she at the centre with her now trademark accessible charm. The assembly's standing orders state independent MPPs will be excluded from debates where time is supposed to be divided evenly between recognized parties.

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Ford, a businessman with little experience of public office, has promised to cut spending by at least C$6 billion ($4.6 billion) a year by finding efficiencies, but said he would not balance Ontario's budget in his first year in power. He'll lead a province that is home to almost a third of Canada's total population of 36 million people, and the country's manufacturing and financial sectors.

But, don't be alarmed if the process at your polling station hasn't changed.

Ford succeeds Kathleen Wynne, a five-year incumbent who conceded last week that she was headed for defeat. Technically speaking, the party's constitution requires that NDP members vote on whether she should stay on as party leader at their next general convention, but it's hard to imagine Horwath going anywhere until after the next election, given last night's success. In style, his campaign took a page from that of Donald Trump, emphasizing the leader over the party.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corp projected that Ford's party would win the majority of seats in the provincial legislature, giving Ford broad powers to pass legislation. The Conservatives and NDP were neck and neck in most polls based on popular support, though Ford's backing was more widely spread across the province, leading to more seats. The Green Party meanwhile, picked up its first ever seat in the province. "But I can tell you one thing, we're repealing it". "Doug Ford commits to working for the future of our children".

The last few days of Ford's campaign were dominated by news of a lawsuit against him from Rob Ford's widow alleging mismanagement of the family business. My dad today when I took him, he and my mum, to vote, he was talking about how his mum talked so much about not having been able to vote until she was 30 or so and he says it's just like yesterday he remembers that.

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